PRESS RELEASE: National Call-In Day for Employment Equality

Call In For Equality!

National Center for Transgender Equality
November 18, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Congress needs to hear from us very clearly about why LGBT people need protection from the widespread discrimination that we continue to face in the workplace. In the Transgender Discrimination Survey we conducted with The Task Force, we found that 97% of the respondents had been harassed or mistreated on the job and 26% had been fired. This cannot continue. Taking action to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is a critical step in making it the law of the land that this kind of discrimination must never be tolerated. We need you to work with us to pass ENDA now and ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace.

NCTE is participating with a wide range of civil rights groups in the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights call-in days in support of ENDA. Our day to call is Wednesday, November 18. We hope you’ll be a part of this important effort and you’ll encourage your friends to call. We need your voice to be heard on Capitol Hill as you tell your lawmakers to pass ENDA now!

On Wednesday, November 18, call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to speak to your Representative (have your zip code handy and they’ll help identify your member of Congress).

When you are connected with your Representative’s office, give your name and your city and then let them know:

“I am calling in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H. R. 3017/S. 1584), which will protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from job discrimination. No one deserves to be fired from their job because of who they are. Please vote yes for ENDA.”

If you get voicemail instead of a person, feel free to leave a message — the messages are listened to and count just as much as if you reach a staff member. You can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you’ve called in the past, no problem — call again or write or visit. And if you really can’t call on November 18, call on a different day.

Once you’ve completed your call to your Representative, hang up and call the Capitol Switchboard again, let the operator know what state you are calling from, and they will connect you with your Senators.

To learn more about what you can do, go to NCTE’s ENDA Web page.